STRIVING FOR FOOD SAFETY: HEALTH DEPARTMENT TEACHES COURS IN SAFE FOOD HANDLING

Diane Gregory wants to make heading out for lunch or an evening meal with the family a little safer.

The Missouri Department of Health with the Cape Girardeau County Health Department offer a free food school each month to teach food safety.

Gregory and the other sanitarians at the health department also do restaurant inspections. Each of the more than 400 establishments that serve food are inspected at least once a year, some more often.

The health department also sees the effects of poor food handling when people get sick.

Symptoms of food poisoning usually include diarrhea, vomiting and stomach cramps.

Each year in Cape County, Gregory said, an average of about 20 cases of food poisoning are diagnosed at local emergency rooms.

"But sometimes it's hard to trace back the source, especially if a stool sample wasn't taken at the ER," Gregory said.

Illnesses can be more serious. Last year, an outbreak of Hepatitis A in Scott County caused concern across the region and sent restaurant workers to classes and looking for immunizations.

Gregory says following food safety rules and maintaining good hygiene can eliminate most food-borne illnesses.

"We talk about proper cooking techniques and holding temperatures," Gregory said.

The lessons vary depending on what type of food or establishment is involved. Restaurants with buffets and smorgasbords, for example, have concerns with keeping hot food hot and cold food cold.

Convenience stores, which sell a lot of fountain drinks, need to keep the ice sanitary.

More than half of all food-borne disease outbreaks are caused by improper cooking or improper holding temperatures.

"We also talk about hand washing."

Hand-washing often seems a simplistic lesson, Gregory said. But she can't emphasize the importance enough.

Nearly a fourth of all food-borne disease outbreaks are linked to poor hygiene.

"Sometimes we tell horror stories about hand washing," Gregory said.

On occasion, restaurants are required to send employees to food school as a condition of remaining open.

More often, businesses choose to send their employees as part of training.

Other businesses offer their own in-house training, often developed at a corporate level, Gregory said.

"But we encourage those establishments to participate in our school also as a supplemental training," she said.

Gregory encourages all employees of a restaurant to attend, not just the cook.

"The server hears complaints from customers about dirty dishes or cold food," Gregory said.

If trained, those servers could help pinpoint a potential health risk.

School cafeterias are subject to the same inspections as other food establishments. Gregory said the local schools have a good record. "We hold a special session for them, and I would say between 95 and 100 percent of school cooks have attended our training."

They have additional training from the state.

Recently, more non-profit organizations are participating. Gregory would like to see an increase in these numbers.

"I would like to see churches and other groups that hold suppers and potlucks come in for training," she said.

"Catering is also a big concern," Gregory said. "I've seen advertisements that catering is a good home business, but you need a separate kitchen and heating and cooling capacity to hold food made ahead of time."

Files on inspections of caterers and other restaurants are open to the public at the health department.